By IANS,
Chandigarh : A luxury train covering all the leading Sikh shrines in the country will be flagged off in December this year, a Punjab official said Tuesday.
Principal Secretary Tourism Geetika Kalha said an agreement had been signed between Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) and Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) to run the train.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would flag off the train Dec 26 this year.
The train would cover Akal Takht in Amritsar, Takht Sri Damdama Sahib at Talwandi, Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib (Anandpur), Takht Sri Patna Sahib (Patna) and Takht Sri Hazur Sahib at Nanded in Maharashtra.
Starting from Amritsar, the train will embark on a nine-day journey via Delhi, Agra and Gwalior and culminate at Nanded.
At a meeting here Tuesday, Badal approved the name of the train as “Panj Takhts Yatra Express”.
Kalha sought the personal intervention of the chief minister with the central government for the grant of subsidized tariff rates, as allowed to the Buddhist circuit train.